A/N - Upcoming Explicit Lemon in this chapter. It will be in the second section, marked with a line, beginning soon after Daphne's long explanation. It will go pretty much to the end of the chapter. Please RR!

Chapter 14 - Happy Birthday, Harry

Harry could scarcely believe it, after weeks of stressing, after no response to the owls that he'd sent to her, she was here. He'd even contemplated owling Cyrus but had decided against it. Now Daphne stood at the end of the table looking beautiful and smiling at him, in just the same way that she had at the party as if nothing had changed.

"Hi everyone, you scared the hell out of me. Thanks for coming!" Harry said after recovering from the initial shock, smiling widely at the group who were all there for his first-ever birthday party and who all laughed at his response.

"Right, now that the birthday boy's here, I'm sure you'll all want to talk to him one by one but the food's all ready, there's plates near the door there on the countertop, just grab whatever and sit wherever you like," announced Molly.

The group all began to move down the left-hand side of the table and Sirius started handing out some plates. Harry, reaching over Hermione's shoulder, grabbed two plates from Sirius and some cutlery and walked down to the other end of the long, rectangular kitchen table to where Daphne was still standing.

"Hi," Harry said, feeling awkward at first and impulsively rubbing a hand on the back of his hair, "It's really good to see you."

Daphne smiled genuinely at him. "It's good to see you too," she said, before wrapping her slender arms around him in a hug. Over his shoulder, she said, "I'm sorry I didn't write, I was just…"

She opened her eyes, looked at all the happy people around her, and pulled out of the hug before looking into the questioning eyes that she'd missed so much over the six weeks.

"We can talk about it later," she said, "There's lots of people here to see you and everything's good between us, okay?"

Harry smiled, nodded and asked "Shall we get some food? Mrs Weasley's cooking is legendary."

Daphne agreed, and they went around the table getting a few bits of whatever they liked. There was roast chicken, roast beef, chips, mash, roast potatoes, burgers, kebabs, rice, couscous, chilli con carne, a variety of roast and steamed vegetables as well as a veritable smorgasbord of other sundries and nibbles for people to grab if they wanted anything a little less heavy. On one worktop there were bottles of elf-made wine, butterbeer and mead, as well as pitchers of pumpkin juice and cans of muggle sodas that Mr Weasley had excitedly bought on his way home from work.

With their plates loaded, Harry and Daphne made their way from the lounge into the living room, where Tonks and Remus were already sitting with their plates on their laps, chatting jovially while they ate. Several of the chairs that had been around the kitchen table had been moved into the living room to increase the number of people that could sit in there and to make it easier for people to get to the buffet.

"Hi guys," Harry said as they entered and he and Daphne sat on a couple of the kitchen chairs, "This is Daphne."

"Happy birthday, Harry, and nice to meet you Daphne, I'm Tonks," the pink-haired Auror said."

"Yes, happy birthday, Harry," said Remus, "And you know me already," he said to Daphne.

"Yeah, it sucks not having you as a teacher anymore, Moony," Harry said.

"Actually, I knew Remus before that," Daphne said, "He's been coming to my Dad's shops in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade for as long as I can remember."

"Yes," Remus said, nodding, "I've known you since you were how old? Nine?"

"Ten," Daphne replied, "It was when my Dad started to ask me to come in and help his staff in the shops some busier weekends."

"Well, you've all been wonderful," Lupin replied, "Without the subsidising your Dad lobbied for, there'd be no way I'd be able to afford the ingredients for Wolfsbane. And thanks for not outing me in your third year by the way."

"No problem," Daphne said with a smile. "It was a no-brainer really, we know how difficult it is for Werewolves to get jobs, and you were such a brilliant teacher. We've not had a better one since."

"She's right, Moony," Harry said, "Even Crouch last year while interesting, just didn't have the connection with us that you did."

"Crouch?" Daphne asked, confused, "We had Moody last year."

"We didn't. It was Barty Crouch Junior. Crouch Senior polyjuiced his dying wife into his son, snuck her into Azkaban and swapped them. It was him who put my name in the Goblet under a different school."

"That's crazy." Daphne said, blinking in surprise, "And it makes sense now, I always did think he was having a bit too much fun torturing that spider in from of Neville. Now it's obvious why."

They shared a knowing but slightly uncomfortable look, Daphne was also clearly au fait with just who had done what to Neville's parents but it wasn't something that needed to be discussed here.

"How's work, Tonks? Had any excitement recently?" Harry asked, before adding to Daphne, "Tonks is an Auror."

"No," Tonks replied, "Not yet, though we're expecting it to come soon. Since the Prophet has changed their tune on you and officially declared that Voldemort is back there haven't been many attacks that we've needed to foil. Most of the attacks have been on establishments, not homes. There was an attack on Pippins Potions in Hogsmeade last week, but with the new articles on ways to protect your homes that came out in the last weeks, a lot of them have been spooked before we've even got there."

"That's good news," Daphne said, "So it seems what happened at the trial was a good thing,"

"It seems that way," Tonks replied, Before we were having attacks only maybe once a fortnight, but they were most of the time well organised and successful. Now they're a bit more often, but they're disorganised and poorly planned. Getting rid of so many of his inner circle at once has had a big effect."

"That's good," Harry said, "Now we just need to get rid of Fudge and install someone better. I can't believe they're making us wait til the next session before we can have him out."

"Votes of no confidence need a Wizengamot session, unfortunately," Daphne said.

"Plus he's gone into hiding now that people are realising how much influence Death Eaters like Malfoy have had on him," added Remus, "I even heard in the Leaky that some people think he knew Voldemort was back and was keeping it under wraps on purpose."

"Nah, they're giving him way too much credit," said Daphne.

"I agree," said Tonks, "The Prophet does like to stir those kinds of things up. Did you finish your column yet, Harry?"

"Just finished it yesterday," he replied.

"You're writing for the Prophet?" Daphne asked, looking impressed.

"Yeah. Well me and Hermione." Harry said, "We've been working on some propaganda to give people hope and incentivise people. Just gotta go to Gringotts tomorrow and then to the Prophet's Offices with Sirius. Then he's got an appointment for a few hours so I thought I might do a bit of shopping, go and get my Hogwarts supplies."

"I'll go with you if you like," Daphne suggested, "I was gonna have the day myself when I left after breakfast anyway."

"Wait, what?" Harry said, confused "You're staying the night?

He'd frowned a little there, so Daphne was a little hesitant when she said, "Sirius invited me to. If that's alright?"

She was concerned, thinking she might have done something wrong until Harry broke out into a beaming smile.

"It's brilliant!" he said, "Alright then, it's a date."

Daphne broadly smiled back.

"Awww, ickle Hawwy is in lub." Tonks teased.

"Shut up," Harry replied, but blushed to his ears.

"Hey guys," Hermione said, "Happy birthday, Harry, what are we talking about?"

"Nothing," Harry said quickly, causing audible snorts of laughter from Daphne, Remus and Tonks.

"Hi Hermione," Daphne said, "I love your earrings."

"Thanks," Hermione replied brightly, "I love your top too, it's so shimmery. I'm glad you're here because wanted to ask you something. When I found out you were with Harry now, I thought it might be an option."

"Go On."

Then Hermione started speaking very fast.

"Well, I remembered that you and I always get the top marks in our year, and I've recently borrowed a book off Harry about arithmancy and I've been learning loads. First I was learning about creating spells for animation but now I'm onto creating spells that make a material recognise when it's touched and then have an effect, like when variants of Gemino are applied to things it can make things duplicate and duplicate and duplicate when touched. I remembered the project you submitted last year for your final project on how you made a spell to make metals go soft when receiving high impacts and I thought it would be great to work with you on a spell you could cast on a material like a cloak. We could have it recognise when solid objects were deliberately sent against it, duplicate them and then fire them back in the same direction twice as fast, what do you think?"

"Did you even breathe?" asked Tonks, who made Harry and Remus burst into laughter, but Daphne's eyes lit up.

In truth, Daphne had created her metal-softening spell last year for her sister. Astoria's bed had bars around it that could be raised to stop her falling off mid-seizure, but she'd really hurt herself after one of them, fracturing her arm. This was why Daphne made the spell, so that when Astoria had the seizures it would reduce the capacity for her to hurt herself, but she could still have the bars and she wouldn't fall off.

Right now though, Daphne was in full-on excitement mode. In truth, she'd been looking forward to talking to Hermione about their mutual academic interests, and while Hermione spent a lot more time studying the magical theory of how spells work, Daphne was more into how spells were applied and the different methods to do so.

"I'm in," she said, causing Hermione to make an almost violent "eek" and rush to hug Daphne, nearly knocking both of their plates out of their hands, "Ooh but that raises so many questions, like how do we get it to recognise what was sent as an attack? Does it have to be sent to injure or would I just be able to throw a plate of mash at Harry and it not cover me in a torrent of potato?"

"Hey, no one throwing any vegetables at me," Harry said, defensively holding his palms up in jest.

"You know guys, if you can get this working, I can get you a meeting with our training division and you might be able to teach it to our Aurors."

Both Hermione and Daphne stared at each other excitedly.

"When can we start?" Daphne asked.

"I already have. I'll send you my notes and let me know what you think when we're back at school, said Hermione.

"Deal," replied Daphne, grinning.

They ate the rest of their dinners in relative silence from then on, just making a few comments here and there. Harry was always very hungry after their sessions so he wolfed down his food, earning him a strange look from Daphne.

"What?" he asked, "I've been literally training since seven am."

She nodded, amused, "That's great, but don't ever let my father see you eat like that."

Harry just shrugged. A few minutes later, Daphne was done too and they got up to drop off their plates into the kitchen and grab a couple of drinks. Both Ron and Dumbledore had pulled chairs back around the kitchen table and were both diving into the food, stuffing their faces. Occasionally, Ron would stop his eating for a moment and say, "Hey Professor, try this!", to which Dumbledore would grab something off whatever plate Ron had pointed to and bite into whatever it was with vigour. This was followed by an acknowledging nod and a "mmm" from the headmaster. At one point, Dumbledore looked up at Molly, who was busy near the oven looking at a recipe book, waved his hand over his glass and suddenly his elf-made wine floated into Ron's empty goblet. Another wave made the wine the same colour as the nearby pumpkin juice which was right next to a new bottle of wine, which he levitated over to himself and wandlessly commanded it to pour himself a fresh one before giving his new feasting companion a cheeky wink. This was the bit that Harry and Daphne had caught when they entered the room and they were astounded, but there was no way they were going to say anything.

"The food was lovely Mrs Weasley," Daphne said, placing her plate and cutlery amongst a mounting pile of dishes.

"Thank you very much, Heir Greengrass," Molly said, before turning and curtsying at Daphne, which looked very strange in her monogrammed Weasley apron.

"None of that while I'm here, Mrs Weasley, I'm just Daphne.' Daphne said with a friendly smile.

It was certainly the right thing to say, as the Weasley matriarch beamed and said "You call me Molly then, Daphne."

Daphne then turned her attention to Mr Weasley, who wasn't much focusing on his plate and was reading an instruction manual for a microwave, but he said "Thanks for coming, Daphne," without looking away, "Sorry I've just got to a really good bit."

"Fair enough," Daphne replied, "Muggles are fascinating."

Arthur stopped what he was doing and turned to Daphne like he'd just heard the voice of God. Harry felt like he should have warned her not to say that, but the damage was done.

"I agree!" Arthur said, turning away from his plate to talk to her, "Do you really think so?"

"Of course," Daphne replied, "They've invented so many things we could reinvent in the wizarding world. Imagine a Magical Television."

"I know!" Arthur replied, eyes full of excitement. "What else do you like?"

"Mostly I like muggle clothes and their fashion. They're so much more comfortable, and I think a lot of the time look quite a bit better than robes."

"I agree, but I always get funny looks when I try to wear them."

"Maybe it's what you're wearing together rather than any one thing." Daphne suggested Certain things go together you see."

"Ah, so are you saying a woollen jumper doesn't go well with what they call a Speedo?"

Daphne had to stop herself from laughing.

"Absolutely not!" Daphne replied, "That's like turning up to a Ministry function wearing open robes and only underpants!"

"Damn, no wonder I was kicked out of that Tesco," Arthur said, blushing, "I'm clueless!"

"I tell you what, Harry and I are going to Diagon Alley tomorrow with Sirius. Why don't we also hop out of the Leaky Cauldron and I'll get you a muggle magazine on their clothing? Harry can bring it back with him." Daphne suggested.

"That would be amazing!" Arthur said, "So what do you think about -"

"Arthur dear," Molly interrupted, "Daphne doesn't want to talk about muggle things all night. Besides. Everyone will be done soon." She then turned her head to Harry and Daphne and said, "Why don't you two head into the parlour and we can get you to open your presents!"

Ten minutes later, Harry was sitting on the floor in the parlour next to a large pile of birthday presents. It was the biggest pile he'd ever seen in his life. Everyone was sitting around him, as Dumbledore had levitated all the different chairs and expanded the room a little to fit everyone in. It was pretty daunting, Harry thought, to have everyone watching him open every present. What if he didn't like one of them? Wouldn't they be offended? He batted the intrusive thought away. Any present bought by those around him was bound to be excellent, just because they got it for him.

As everyone quietly chatted and drank whatever they were drinking, Harry picked up the first gift from the pile.

"That's from me, my boy," said Albus, as Harry picked up what was obviously a book, covered in garish gold and purple polka-dot wrapping paper.

Harry tore off the wrapping and found that he'd received a paperback muggle medical textbook. He read, "Anatomy and Physiology, 11th edition." and turned it over to read the blurb.

"Poppy recommended it to me." Albus advised, "She said it's the best book for prospective healers to get started with."

Harry smiled up at the headmaster and thanked him. Next, came two identical presents from Ron and Hermione, which were boxes of Honeydukes chocolate, and then he unwrapped an Aurors' standard-issue wand holster from Tonks. Sirius gave him a little wink when Harry reached out to pick up the present he'd given, which turned out to be a book called "Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches." This caused Daphne to raise an eyebrow at the animagus and say "He won't needing to charm any more witches, thank you very much." which brought all of them out into titters of laughter, that is, apart from the giver of the next present.

Ginny smiled at Harry and she bounced her feet on the floor as Harry opened what she'd given him. It turned out to be a wizarding photograph in a small wooden frame, depicting Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all about to go into the stadium before the Quidditch World Cup final. Daphne's stare nearly burned a hole in the floor when she realised that Harry was at the end of the line-up and had an arm around Ginny in the photo. Harry graciously thanked Ginny for the present - which Daphne wanted to burn as soon as possible and Daphne smiled up at Harry again before she accepted a second new butterbeer from Arthur. She was sure he was waiting until she'd the moment she'd finished her last drink to immediately offer another.

Then Harry opened a present that was from Molly and Arthur, which turned out to be a very expensive black leather jacket. Arthur said he'd been to the movies a few times and always thought the coolest guys wore leather jackets. Apparently, Tonks, who went with him a few days ago to fetch the present on their lunch break helped him pick it out. Harry thanked both Molly and Arthur and said he would wear it out whenever he next got a chance, ignoring the fact that they spent quite a bit of the money he'd returned to them on his gift.

Next, came a present from Daphne's own parents, and she was pleased to see Harry's reaction to his new blood-locked trunk, which had been enchanted to hold five trunks in a one-trunk space, each easily accessible by pushing a button below a Slytherin-Potter seal that was embossed with gold on top of the chest's rich mahogany. Harry smiled up at her, and said to thank her parents for him, to which she agreed with a nod and a quick "Of course."

After he'd slowly slid the present from Daphne's parents to one side, he then picked up her present, which she'd wrapped very carefully by hand with fine dark green and glossy paper. Daphne was a bit jittery with anticipation.

Harry had almost thought it was a book when he'd picked it up, but as he carefully unwrapped it he found a rectangular piece of slate, bordered with very small runes. He looked at Daphne confusedly and felt a bit stupid by the "ahh"s of understanding that came from Tonks, Molly and Dumbledore.

"It's a Memorandus tablet, Harry," Daphne explained. "You can use a dry quill, and just the touch of it will write whatever on the slate. We write the date at the top, and then we can see what we've written."

"We?" Harry asked.

"That's the best bit, I got a pair of them and had them connected. I have mine in my bag. Whatever we write is displayed instantly on the slate for the other person. If we both write the same date or add a "- two" or "three" if we run out of space, we can be writing, doodling or whatever we want and both see it at the same time. I thought it would be easier to talk with you here with the mail wards and we can also talk from our separate dorms."

To Daphne, the look that he gave her, was everything. To Harry, after weeks of dreading that she'd gone off him, this was a godsend. She wanted to keep talking to him. A lot. Harry got up from his crouching position on the floor wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek before simply saying "Thank you."

Harry sat back, thinking that was going to be his best present, but it wasn't, and after they'd all found out what it was, Daphne didn't mind either. The final present came in a simple cardboard box, wrapped in red paper. It was handed to him by Lupin and wasn't on the pile of presents, who said he just wanted to make sure because it was fragile. Harry unwrapped the package ever so carefully, opened the cardboard box and pulled out a tiny crystal vial containing what Harry knew was a memory.

He looked up at Remus, who explained, "Albus has very kindly offered the use of his pensieve for you to view this, Harry. It's my memory of your Mum and Dad's wedding."

Harry didn't know what to say. He couldn't say anything. He just got up, wrapped his arms around Remus, whispered "Thank you, and ran from the room, red-faced and tears beginning to sting his eyes. Several people started to get up, but Sirius stopped them, saying "No, Daphne should go."

She found him sitting at the top of the stairs, his head in his hands. It was the greatest gift that anyone had ever given him, Harry knew that for certain, and Daphne did too. She sat next to him without saying anything, wrapped him in a hug, and he cried into her shoulder. Neither of them spoke as Harry got it all out, but he was feeling embarrassed and yet grateful that Daphne was there. When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were red, and a stray tear leaked, but she reached up a delicate hand and wiped it away, smiling.

"And I thought my gift was good," Daphne said with a joking smile.

"It was, it's brilliant, really, but this…" Harry said, "It's the best."

"I know. You should tell him, and then make a joke or something. Show everyone you're in a good mood."

Harry nodded. "Thanks," he said.

"We're a team now. I'm always here, whenever you need me. I know I'll never know what it's like…being you…but if you ever just need a hug…" she offered.

"I'll come to you," Harry said, smiling, before kissing Daphne tenderly. She smiled back softly and brushed her fingertips along his cheek, and even though her heart bled for him, she got to her feet to help him to his. They then went back into the parlour and everyone looked up at him in concern.

"I'm good, guys," Harry said, "Thanks Remus, that was the present anyone has ever given me, I'm just glad it wasn't Padfoot's memory, he'd probably have got it mixed up somehow and I'd have seen a memory of him as Snuffles in the park sniffing other dog's behinds.

"Always did love a nice ass," Sirius added with a grin, causing everyone to laugh further completing this breaking of the tension.

Molly announced that dessert would be on the table in five minutes and just to come and grab something whenever you wanted. Albus and Ron got up and followed Molly straight into the kitchen while several other people also got up to spread out into the other rooms or go to the bathroom.

"So Daphne," said Fred, leaning casually against a wall next to his twin, "We've got a question for you."

Daphne turned her head towards them and Harry already knew that this was either going to be really funny or make him cringe.

"Yes?" Daphne answered, politely.

"We all know that Harry is punching," said George.

"We don't need the speccy git's specs to see that," added Fred

"And he'd never seen any girl in a bikini before this summer," said George.

So we wanna know, at your party, how long did he take to embarrass himself?" asked Fred.

"Did he walk into a wall?"

"Did he miss his mouth when eating?"

"Put his elbow in a butter dish?" George said a smirk at Ginny in the corner.

"Get stuck in the pool with a raging boner?" asked Fred.

"Slip and fall flat on his face?"

"Start talking babsolute gibberblish?"

"How long did it take?" the twins asked in unison.

Daphne grinned and glanced over at Harry, who'd gone bright red when one of the twins' ideas had been spot on.

"About three hours, give or take," Daphne, "We decided to start dating a couple of hours later."

"You are so generous placing your affections on a moron in need, Daphne," said Fred after he and his twin laughed at her response.

"At least I don't have to get my tits out to get a boyfriend," said Ginny under her breath.

Daphne opened her mouth to retort, feeling heat rising up her neck.

"Actually, Ginny," Harry corrected, "I decided I wanted to ask Daphne to be my girlfriend before the real party had even started."

"You did?" asked Daphne, looking at him in surprise.

"Yeah," Harry smiled, "Just as we left the stables."

Daphne leaned closer and kissed him. Ginny promptly got up and left the room, and Daphne opened one eye mid-kiss to watch. Smirking through the kiss she felt vindicated.

"Awwwww." Fred and George said together.

"Such cutie pies," said Fred, clapping his hands to his face in mock admiration.

"They're adorable," said George, holding his hands to his chest as if longing for such a love of his own.

"Oh shut up!" said Harry.

They got up to go and get some dessert from the kitchen, Harry got treacle tart while Daphne grabbed some profiteroles. They stayed in there, just standing and holding their bowls and spoons while they ate.

"You know, it was Neville's birthday yesterday," said Harry.

"I did know, did you get him anything?" asked Daphne, taking a bite of a profiterole.

"There's a hot tub arriving for him this weekend," Harry replied. Daphne spat her bit of dessert out of her mouth in laughter.

"What is it?" asked Harry, amused.

"My Dad's cousin is friends with Neville's Gran. I convinced her to invite her on a little spa break this weekend and wrote Tracey to invite herself to Longbottom Manor."

"You didn't!" Harry said.

"Yep!" Daphne grinned.

"Unexpected matchmaking high five!" Harry said, raising his hand, which Daphne slapped.

"A whole weekend, just those two and a new hot tub, Tracey probably staying the night," Daphne said in wonder.

"Wish it were you and me," Harry replied.

"Harry, if it were you and me, things would get out of hand way too fast," Daphne warned, batting her eyelashes.

"Oh yeah?" Harry flirted.

"Mhm." she replied, stepping closer, putting her bowl on the kitchen work surface and placing a hand on his chest."

"Well it's a good job Neville is as nervous as he is around her then," Harry said.

"I hope it stays that way unless we want little Nevilles and Traceys running around," Daphne answered with a laugh.

They chatted for a few more minutes, and then Sirius ushered everyone into the kitchen for Harry's cake. The lights were turned off, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" (Fred and George as tonelessly as they could), and Harry blew out his candles. When the lights were turned on, Sirius shouted "Speech!" which was echoed by Ron, Tonks and even Daphne, when Harry glanced at her uncertainly at the idea.

"Okay, okay" Harry started. "A speech. I'm not really good at them, the ones I did at the Wizengamot were ruthlessly prepared in advance, but I'll give it a go. Thank you all for coming, and for all your wonderful presents. Most will be treasured, others will be scoffed down just like Albus and Ron this evening."

"Ah, my boy, when you get a taste for Molly's cooking…" Dumbledore said, dreamily staring off into the distance, causing a laugh from everyone.

"It is indeed excellent," Harry agreed, "In fact, can I get a round of applause for Mrs Weasley for being such an incredible hostess and for clearly having slaved over a hot stove for hours to provide us with all of this amazing food."

Everyone clapped loudly, Ron put his fingers in his mouth and whistled.

"Lastly. It's been a whirlwind year for a lot of us, with what's been going on, but all of you people are incredible, and I'm proud to be close to you all. Now please can we have some of this cake? It's been staring at me in face the ever since I walked in."

Everyone laughed and clapped. The cake was cut and once everyone was done, everybody who wasn't staying started to leave, making sure to wish Harry a happy birthday.

Harry and Daphne spent a while at the table just chatting with Sirius, who'd started the conversation with "What are your intentions for my Godson?", but had been unable to keep a straight face. Daphne very quickly decided she liked the man.

Ginny wasn't seen for the rest of the evening, while Hermione, noticing her absence, went up to their room to offer support. Fred and George disappeared up to their room also, and it wouldn't be long until those walking on the first-floor corridor would hear the random pops, fizzes and bangs that came with their usual experimentations for their new business.

Kreacher and Dobby began tidying up the mess of the party, their appearance signalling the party was over.

"Right you two," said Sirius, "If we're going to set off before nine tomorrow morning, we better get off to bed soon. Daphne, I've had Dobby move your bag into your room, it's just three doors along the corridor from Harry's and mine and has been spelled to not let boys in for the night."

Harry and Daphne both visibly sighed in dismay.

"However," Sirius continued, "I'm a big, extremely mature grown-up whose bedtime isn't for another, say thirty minutes? I do need my beauty sleep though, so I've recently silenced our bedroom door to keep Ron's snoring out. I'm sure I'll get too tired to sleep any longer in exactly half an hour, so this Dogfather will come to bed then, capisce?"

Harry and Daphne grinned, Harry said "Thanks Sirius," and both of them immediately got up from the kitchen and ran upstairs.

"I can't believe you just did that, Sirius," Molly said.

Sirius shrugged, "Eh, we were all young and falling in love once, and it's only half an hour."

"You can do a lot in half an hour," pointed out Arthur, not looking up from his instruction manual.

"More like two minutes though, these days, eh Arthur?" teased Sirius.

"Please give me some credit, Mr Black," Arthur said, "It's at least three."

"Arthur!" Molly chided with a playful push on her husband's shoulder, and they all laughed.


The moment Harry and Daphne got into the room and Harry shut the door behind them, Daphne immediately went to kiss her boyfriend. What she wasn't expecting was for him to reach his hands out and place them on her shoulders to stop her. She looked up into his eyes. He was troubled.

"I…I really want to do that, Daphne, but I think we need to talk." Harry said, walking over and sitting on his bed.

"You…you aren't breaking up with me, are you? she asked as she walked over to sit beside him, suddenly very worried.

"Oh Merlin, no." Harry replied, "It's just…Everything was so good at your birthday party but then we haven't spoken in weeks. And then I thought it was because of what happened at the trial, I thought you hated me now. When you turned up tonight it was amazing, but I've been gearing up for you telling me you didn't want to see me anymore when we got back to school."

Daphne made a sigh and pursed her lips. She didn't know where to start, but reached out her hand to hold his, and looked into his eyes, his almost annoyingly gorgeous eyes.

"Okay. First off, everything was initially wonderful between us, but you're right, sort of. I never decided to break up with you, but I'll admit I thought about it."

"Oh," Harry said, looking down, sadly, but it wasn't for long as Daphne reached out her other hand to lift his chin so they were again meeting eye to eye.

"Look, this is a long story, but I'll explain. After the party, the next day I was at home with Tracey when Mum came running over, telling us we needed to go to . Tracey left and Mum side-along apparated Astoria and me there immediately. We got there and Dad was unconscious. They said he was gonna wake up soon, that he'd had a big bleed, had temporarily lost an arm, but it was reattached so he just needed some blood replenishers and he'd wake up in an hour. A couple of hours later, he still hadn't woken up and then alarms started going off. About a dozen healers ran in and stabilised him. It turned out that he'd lost so much blood before the emergency healers got there that his organs had been shutting down, and what they'd thought he needed wasn't so cut and dry.

Right after they explained that to us a House Elf called Dobby who said he's part of your house turns up with a hamper for my family and a tub of strawberry ice cream for me. I remembered that you had warned me, that it was your plan in the first place and now to me you were the reason my Dad wasn't waking up. My mum stayed in the hospital for three nights, while Astoria and I went home. We visited every day, but Astoria was barely eating. The first morning after it had happened the Daily Prophet came and explained what happened, sort of. I went from being angry at you to almost thinking that I hated you for so recklessly putting my family in danger. I couldn't decide whether I wanted nothing more to do with you or not. I kept wrestling with myself and thought why on earth didn't you at least warn someone so there could've been Aurors under disillusionment charms or something? But then I reasoned it was likely the Fudge would've found out and questioned whoever you had warned, likely Amelia Bones.

Then, on the fourth day, my Dad woke up and explained what had actually happened. He'd said he was safe until he decided to get involved, that the Death Eaters had seen him, didn't raise a wand to him and he'd protected himself from the beginning from any physical collateral damage. He said that he'd heard a Cruciatus and then took a glimpse over the seat in front of him and saw you were massively pinned down behind a wall or something. He remembered how much you've done for our family and thought about what the benefits would be for everyone if you made it through this so he decided to give you a diversion. Then he lost his arm to a Diffindo and was bleeding so heavily that he nearly passed out straight away. He said that shortly after you then appeared next to him, managed to reattach his arm with what was likely a family spell and spoke to him briefly before he passed out.

I couldn't believe it, I went home and tried to reevaluate things. My Dad wasn't really in any danger from your plan. At the time the Death Eaters respected him enough because they knew him and he'd had an okay relationship with them. It was only when he chose to help you that they'd attacked. You warned us in advance and likely knew what danger or lack of he might be in but you advised us anyway as a precaution. I still think the plan was stupid but I was no longer mad.

I spent the next month just in my room, unsure of what to do. Only really then with this happening did it hit home at what kind of danger I would be in if I chose to be with you, but then I realised my father had chosen to help you already, the Greengrasses, or at least him were going to be a target anyway. We'd chosen a side.

Then, after not hearing from me either, Tracey came over and we had a chat. She reminded me what you said about how you felt about my family, that I made you feel strong and that things weren't so scary anymore. She helped me to remember how you made me feel valued and respected my independence and you made me feel like I can grow strong with you. I realised I want you to keep making me feel that way and how being with you would make me feel driven to be better and that being with you I wouldn't just be some poncy Lord's broodmare but could live my life as I wished. I wanted to feel proud to help you, to get through challenges together and to be there for you when you needed me. But then, it had been too long, and you hadn't contacted me in a month either. I thought maybe you didn't want me anymore. I didn't know why, but I was worried you were scared you would put me in danger by being with me, or something. Then I thought, "Damnit, it's my choice if I want to put myself in danger" and realised it was up to me, that I should reach out for what I wanted. I was about to write to you when a letter came from Sirius asking me to come and stay for your birthday in a week but with no discussion about what had happened or how you felt, just a simple invitation. I decided to wait a week until I saw you to speak to you, so I could explain in person, rather than just through a letter."

"Wow," said Harry, "There's so much there I didn't know. Thanks for explaining to me. The only reason why I didn't contact you was because I thought you would contact me if you wanted to."

"That was the right thing to do, at first," Daphne replied, smiling sadly, "But then, there wasn't even a letter saying hope your Dad is doing okay and I just thought maybe you didn't care anymore."

"Of course I did," Harry said, frowning, "I do. I know whatever this is is really new, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth exploring further."

"That's exactly what Tracey said," Daphne said.

"Remind me to thank her," said Harry, before asking, "So, still together then?"

"Still together," she replied, kissing him softly. When they broke apart, Harry sighed happily, kicked his shoes off and lay down on his double bed, flat on his back, both arms raised and he rested his head on his hands. Daphne removed her little black pumps as well, one by one, and then climbed over him to lay at his side, propping herself up on her elbow, her back to the wall.

"It's always a good day when you're here," Harry said.

"I know what you mean."

Daphne looked around the room. Clearly, it had been magically expanded to fit the two double beds and the two sets of wardrobes and desks, and she was willing to bet the en-suite bathroom had been expanded as well. She looked over at Sirius' unmade bed and some of his "artwork" on the wall above it.

"Those posters are very…interesting," Daphne said, "The ones next to Sirius' bed."

Harry knew exactly which pictures she was talking about.

"They were at first," he replied, "But then they reminded me of you in that bikini and that I would never see anything as awesome again."

"Well, you were wrong then, weren't you? I plan on getting you in my hot tub again as soon as I can."

It was clear then, the emotional talk part of the short time together was over. They looked at each other, Daphne on her side facing Harry, Harry moving up in bed, still laid on his back but now was reclined with half his back resting against the headboard and his head tilting towards her. There was tension, yet they were waiting, daring each other to make the first move.

"I'll look forward to it," Harry said, swallowing as he glanced down at her cleavage in the pearlescent vest top. Daphne flicked her long, flowing hair behind her face.

"Me too," Daphne replied, thinking just how much she loved how his forearms looked, Harry having rolled up the sleeves of his crisp white shirt. Harry looked into his girlfriend's face, taking in her piercing blue eyes, surrounded by a thick line of eyeliner and her glossy but only slightly pink-tinted lip gloss. She was unreal, but still, who was gonna make the first move?

"You know, I love the lip gloss," Harry said, "I'd very much like to kiss it off."

"You would, would you? Daphne replied with a sexy half smile and challenging eyebrow raised, "I think the first thing that needs to come off is that shirt."

Harry swallowed, "It might," he replied, "But I'm so very tired from all the training I've done today, I'm afraid I can't do it all by myself."

"Oh my poor baby," Daphne replied in mock sympathy, sitting up and resting on her knees beside him. "You're too tired?"

Harry nodded with fake sadness.

"Well, I mean I guess I could do it for you," Daphne replied, like he was asking a lot of her. She raised herself up on her knees, and Harry was treated to a brief view down Daphne's top at her generous cleavage as she leaned forward and lifted a leg of the bed, moving to straddle his pelvis.

She looked glorious on top of him, her golden hair appearing like a halo around her head. He looked at the way her pleated skirt had ridden up slightly,

exposing half of the smooth, creamy flesh of her thighs and swallowed. Instinctively he reached out to touch them, but Daphne slapped his hands away.

"Ah ah ahh," Daphne said, smirking while waving a finger in his face, "Your arms are too tired, remember?"

"Of course," Harry replied, rolling his eyes in frustration but willing to play the game.

"You know what, though, I think my bra is tired too," Daphne replied with a serious nod, pulling each white bra strap beneath her top down her arms and then bending each arm to pull both straps free of her body. Harry could barely breathe as she leaned backwards, slightly exposing her stomach and unclipped a clasp at her back. Then, she reached into the front of her top, pulled out her lacy white bra and threw it next to him.

She smirked at his stunned expression but didn't give him another second before she proceeded to unbutton his shirt, step by step exposing the strong muscles of his chest. By the end, she'd decided his abdominal muscles were definitely her favourite part. As she finished her unbuttoning she vigorously pulled the shirt open completely, looking longingly at him. Gazing down at his athletic form, she couldn't help but unintentionally wiggle her hips on top of him. Her eyes widened in shock and she held back a gasp when she realised she could feel Harry's hardness through his trousers, and that she was wearing a skirt.

Harry himself had gasped from the sensation of her movement and decided right then and there that he couldn't take the teasing anymore. He lifted Daphne slightly and adjusted his position so his back was at a steeper incline and reached out to her to pull her lips towards him.

As he adjusted, they felt another one of the excellent rubbing sensations again and her first proper gasp Daphne made from his sudden movement turned into a faint muffled moan as their lips met and she felt Harry's bulge beneath her. Harry felt Daphne gently begin to probe his tongue with her own, and as he lost himself in the sensation, he felt himself needing to also move his, to recreate that sensation also. Deliberately he moved beneath her. She tried to as well, but she pushed as he pulled. They tried again, but they were out of sync, getting frustrated. The kissing was excellent but what they wanted just wasn't happening. He placed his hand on her hips and started gently guiding her into a slow, grinding rhythm.

Their breathing was getting heavier and Daphne was getting worked up. She broke the kiss and leaned backwards atop him, still grinding herself on him. She looked down at his bare chest, his messed up hair from her running her hands through it, his slightly parted lips and his darkened emerald eyes that were boring into her like he was being mounted by a goddess.

He made her so incredibly sexy, she wanted him to be closer to her, and confirming a decision she'd contemplated earlier, she smirked in anticipation of what the look on his face would be when she did what she did next.

Harry lay there, heady sensations rolling through him as Daphne ground her pelvis onto his and he watched her slightly flushed chest breathing heavily in her top. She smirked at him sexily and then reached her hands up to slide her pearlescent vest top's straps off her shoulders before pulling the garment down, baring her pair of magnificent breasts to him. Of course, he'd seen no other breasts to compare them to in real life, but they were easily as perfect as the girls he'd seen on page three of muggle newspapers from time to time. Generous, round and sitting high on her chest, the supple cream flesh was adorned by perfectly proportional pale pink nipples, so pale they were almost the colour of the skin beneath. Daphne, not skipping a beat, reached for his hands at her waist and pulled them her breasts and Harry gently began to squeeze and play with them. She leaned down again, kissing him passionately their steady rocking slowly getting faster and she softly whimpered with the kiss as he took his thumbs and forefinger and gently pinched her pebbling nipples. She moved deeper into the kiss, but being pushed further down meant it was beginning to hurt Harry's wrists, so he instead pushed her backwards, planting his feet on the bed and sliding himself backwards to sit fully upright. As grinding started to turn into humping, Harry trailed kisses from her lips and down her neck.

"Yes, Harry," Daphne said, beginning to moan a little louder now, "Put your mouth on them."

Harry needed no convincing and his hands returned to her hips as he pulled her towards him and his lips found their way to an erect nipple. He marvelled at how soft the skin felt on his lips and Daphne, lost in the new feeling let out a long, drawn-out, breathy moan that drove Harry further on. He sucked and licked and couldn't get enough. Daphne was rocking faster now and Harry was pulling her in time. Their need grew and grew and Harry dropped his hands below her skirt to grab onto the firm yet pillowy flesh of her ass and force more powerful movement between them. Faster and faster, Harry and Daphne, completely lost in the moment, drove each other to new heights. She moaned louder and really started giving it to him as he lavished her breasts with attention, Harry starting to feel tension in his manhood building up. He felt her legs start to tremble on either side of him, but he just kept going. A louder moan now, but it stopped suddenly as her whole body tensed up and her chest flushed completely and the tension in his cock overflowed and he felt himself come in his boxers, making him release his mouth from her breasts and let out a lower guttural groan as the tension of her orgasm dissipated and the silent scream evolved into a loud moan. Their rocking began to slow down and she kissed him softly before they finally stopped moving. She pulled away from the kiss, and breathing heavily they both looked at each other in astonishment for a moment before Daphne leaned to one side and off of him.

A few moments after hitting the pillow, they both started laughing.

When their little mutual giggle finished, Daphne, who was laid on her side again and was running her fingertips along his abs said, "Told you we might get a little out of hand."

"We did a bit, but it was amazing." Harry replied with a grin, "Two minutes, I…er, need to clean up."

Daphne smiled and nodded, and Harry went to a chest of drawers and nipped into the bathroom.

A couple of minutes later Daphne was still on his bed, though now covered up. Harry buttoned up his shirt, laid down again and Daphne rested her head on his chest.

Harry sighed, and said, "I'm so comfy right now, I hate that that you can't sleep in here tonight."

"I know," Daphne replied, "But we've got a lot of the day tomorrow to spend together."

"Yeah, I just don't know when we're going to get a chance to be like that together at Hogwarts," Harry said.

"Empty classrooms are a thing," Daphne replied with a grin.

Harry grinned too, and opened his mouth to speak when there was a loud knock on the door.

They looked at each other, and smiled a mutual sat smile, realising their time was up. Daphne gave him a long kiss and said "See you in the morning, and happy birthday"

"Thanks, see you in the morning," Harry replied.

Daphne got up, slipped her shoes back on and went to the door.

"Night Sirius," Harry heard her say, and heard his Godfather wish his girlfriend goodnight a moment later.

When Sirius came in, he gave Harry a cheesy grin and a waggle of his eyebrows and asked "Good party then?"

"The best," Harry replied, ignoring the teasing expression, "Thanks for inviting her, Padfoot."

"No worries pup, what are Godfathers for?"